Should Pokemon Catcher be Banned?

[Card Slinger J]

I don't get the point of running Pokemon Catcher with Blastoise UL when it can already bench snipe
anyway. Run it with something like Zekrom or anything that can only attack the Active but can do a massive amount of damage.

 

[HenryP]

Blastoise is horrible with catcher, waste of space

 

[Riskbreakers]

Drag their deadweight out then start sniping. It's not easy to snipe when your opponent's active can KO you back.

 

[DNA]

All right, so let's take a trip down Memory Lane, shall we?

~First there were the people that thought Luxray GL LV.X should be banned.
~Then there were the people that thought Vileplume UD should be banned.
~Then there were the people that thought Lost World should be banned.
~Then there were the people that thought Sableye should be banned.
~Now there are the people that think that Pokemon Catcher should now be banned.

Out of those, Sableye is the only reasonable argument, because of the Black/White rule change (Sableye was never meant to exist in a ruleset where T/S/S could be played T1). And, there is actually something being done about that.
But, what it really comes down to is that people are either scared of, and/or they hate, a certain card that causes them frustration. And, they want to vent their frustration by claiming it should be banned/not printed in the US. The thing is, if you don't think we should have it, why is Japan playing with the card still? The format's virtually the same - by the time Pokemon Catcher is released, we'll have the HGSS-on rotation already.

So seriously, guys - it's just a card. Get over it.

~~~

By the way, for the people that say you don't need Catcher in Blastoise: That's true, but virtually all decks will be running Catcher just to drag up something with giant retreat cost, not just to bring up something you're within range of killing.

 

[Jahikoi]

I know, from personal experience, that in the Base Set/Base 2 formats, Gust of Wind was in desperate need of a ban which never came. It's one of the reasons haymaker stomped over everything.


In this format? I think that it will make it so decks with fast draw engines (Magnezone, reshiboar) have a distinct advantage over everything else. Magnetic draw -> catcher on their basic machop/phanpy -> kill it over and over

 

[Cimurph]

If you don't want to get pokemon catcher'd run Ferrothorn/Gothitelle... problem solved. Besides, then you can still abuse Catcher and such. I.E. think of a way you can easily make it worthless (if there is a way than there is no reason a card should be banned) and if you can't come up with one go ahead and cry. Luxray had Promocroak, Lost World has deafen, vileplume has a whole host of counters, and sableye is really the only broken one I see listed above that is causing a mid-season rotation (which might as well be banning it).

 

[catutie]

releasing this card would be a step backward...we just got rid of luxray...

 

[CarlosDuranJr]

there has always been cards that force your opponent to swap their active, obviously the ones that let you pick were balanced out by having a requirement, either leveling up to bright look, or a coin flip for pokemon reversal or Metagross LA. I can see the fear that people now have because of Catcher's ability to make all these off the wall decks viable, no longer viable.

just use alot of Switch. if they use it to bring up something weak to KO it, then it would have been KO'd anyways if you really think about it. sure, it'll stop Ampharos from being a successful tech, and it'll make Donphan much more powerful because Lanturn prime doesn't last as a threat since Chinchous will just get KO'd like crazy.

but you also have to remember, making room for catcher usually slows down your draw engine. so i you choose to not run catcher, you usually have a great draw engine, which leads to you being able to KO their main attacker and get ahead on prizes before they get it out.

I will Admit though, using Catcher and then PDL's Sudden Delete attack, will be alot of fun.

 

[scizorlicious]

All right, so let's take a trip down Memory Lane, shall we?

~First there were the people that thought Luxray GL LV.X should be banned.
~Then there were the people that thought Vileplume UD should be banned.
~Then there were the people that thought Lost World should be banned.
~Then there were the people that thought Sableye should be banned.
~Now there are the people that think that Pokemon Catcher should now be banned.

Out of those, Sableye is the only reasonable argument, because of the Black/White rule change (Sableye was never meant to exist in a ruleset where T/S/S could be played T1). And, there is actually something being done about that.
But, what it really comes down to is that people are either scared of, and/or they hate, a certain card that causes them frustration. And, they want to vent their frustration by claiming it should be banned/not printed in the US. The thing is, if you don't think we should have it, why is Japan playing with the card still? The format's virtually the same - by the time Pokemon Catcher is released, we'll have the HGSS-on rotation already.

So seriously, guys - it's just a card. Get over it.

~~~

By the way, for the people that say you don't need Catcher in Blastoise: That's true, but virtually all decks will be running Catcher just to drag up something with giant retreat cost, not just to bring up something you're within range of killing.

Amen to that.
There will ALWAYS be cards that cause so much pain that you will want to spend your life driving around and tearing in two any copy of said card that exists just because it annoys you so much. And yes, Pokémon Catcher will be one of those cards. But it won't get banned, because this game is about losing sometimes, and you can't really call this card cheap since its effect has been such a huge part of the game in the past (GoW, Luxray, Reversal...). Deal with it, and life will go on.

 

[Jahikoi]

I believe that pokemon should be aimed around setting up your pokemon, sending out your pokemon, and then doing battle; with disruption attacks being left to specific pokemon (i.e, ambipom moving energy, omastar/aerodactyl with evolutions, etc).



In the game, you don't use shadow room on their pokemon in their party. You don't force your opponent to bring out a new pokemon and attack it. You don't use items from your inventory that damage your opponent.

Warp point was balanced; it was very useful but not broken. Catcher, on the other hand?... I haven't tested it. I know that when the next set is released, I will be running 4 catcher without testing it first. I doubt I would run less than 3.

 

[SPIRE_FAN]

I've been thinking of running either Gothitelle or Vileplume UD when this card hits our shores with some Judges and other stuff for hand disruption HGSS-On style. Spiritomb TR for Spooky Whirlpool would help on that regard as well especially with Seeker.

yeah, have fun with not being able to use communication. Which mostly, every deck should run 4. Your consistent flow of pokemon that you want will decrease heavely.

 

[Vulpix Yolk]

No, this card is good, it should not be banned. There is a simple counter that you should already be playing, it is called Switch, if it becomes a probably play four of them, if they make a good move and get an OHKO on something on your bench, tough luck. Super Scoop Up helps too.

 

[thefleeee]

Theres always ways to get pokemon out of the active spot, Like SSU, and Switch like Vulpix Yolk said

 

[scizorlicious]

I've been thinking of running either Gothitelle or Vileplume UD when this card hits our shoreswith some Judges and other stuff for hand disruption HGSS-On style. Spiritomb TR for Spooky Whirlpool would help on that regard as well especially with Seeker.

yeah, have fun with not being able to use communication. Which mostly, every deck should run 4. Your consistent flow of pokemon that you want will decrease heavely.

Gothitelle only blocks your opponent's Trainers, remember? You can still play as many Communications as your heart desires.
And as far as Vileplume... there's a neat little combo here. Set up an Oddish on bench, then the next turn, you can Seeker up your 'Plume, play whatever Trainers you want, then drop it onto the Oddish that was already there with a Candy. Or you can forego the Candy and just set up another 'Plume every other turn, but Seeker the original one first to have an opportunity to use trainers. It may take up space, but hey- with 'Plume, you'll already be playing Candies, and Seeker's easy to put into almost any decklist.

 

[CarlosDuranJr]

catcher just makes rotating to HS-on is a good idea. can you imagine the gripe of having it AR-on??.. Arceus would destroy everything in its path. 140 HP with no weakness on essentially a stage 1? if catcher is not released however.. I will complain like crazy about not having AR in the format =p

 

[Thedrone1man]

I've been thinking of running either Gothitelle or Vileplume UD when this card hits our shoreswith some Judges and other stuff for hand disruption HGSS-On style. Spiritomb TR for Spooky Whirlpool would help on that regard as well especially with Seeker.

yeah, have fun with not being able to use communication. Which mostly, every deck should run 4. Your consistent flow of pokemon that you want will decrease heavely.

Gothitelle only blocks your opponent's Trainers, remember? You can still play as many Communications as your heart desires.
And as far as Vileplume... there's a neat little combo here. Set up an Oddish on bench, then the next turn, you can Seeker up your 'Plume, play whatever Trainers you want, then drop it onto the Oddish that was already there with a Candy. Or you can forego the Candy and just set up another 'Plume every other turn, but Seeker the original one first to have an opportunity to use trainers. It may take up space, but hey- with 'Plume, you'll already be playing Candies, and Seeker's easy to put into almost any decklist.

Or you could just-you know-play Gothitelle and negate their catchers and not have to waste a supporter every turn just so you can play trainers for a turn and play them regardless while still locking the opponent...but hey, whatever your heart desires.

 

[Sleeping Snorlax]

it's not broken. It makes the game more interesting. Heaven forbid you have to have more strategy in a game based on strategy and luck of the draw >.< Just because they may add a card to the format that can pull out your tech and then they kill it, doesn't mean they should ban it. If you are that worried about it, make a vileplume deck or play switch. It's not that big of a deal. The only deck you will need to worry about is blastgatr using them because it's like the old claydol problem. Where they would bright look the claydol and then snipe around it, but people still found counters for that. So, people should stop complaining about the card. It's not that big of a deal, and watch, more than half the people here complaining will end up running it in their decks and love it more than ever.

 

[Card Slinger J]

Or you could just-you know-play Gothitelle and negate their catchers and not have to waste a supporter every turn just so you can play trainers for a turn and play them regardless while still locking the opponent...but hey, whatever your heart desires.

Yeah I forgot that Gothitelle only prevents your Opponent from playing Trainer - Items, so If I have Gothitelle Active for it's Ability then I can still play as many Trainer - Items as I want. Much better than Vileplume UD which hurts deck consistency and Pokemon Communication is going to be a staple for HGSS-On.

Come to think of it, Pokemon Catcher would be amazing with Gothitelle. Drag their bench sitter, tech, or whatever they have which has a high retreat cost with Gothitelle Active, and setup. The only main threat to it is Mew Prime since Gothitelle is only weak against Psychic. You'd know what would also be really annoying with Gothitelle is Victreebel TR, lolz...

Retreat Gothitelle with a Dodrio UD tech for Retreat Aid to bring out Victreebel and use Acidic Drain while you stall them with Tangling Tendrils until they ragequit I guess. The deck idea seems too annoying and I wouldn't recommend it cause it's not fun to beat someone while stalling where your Opponent can't do anything and they ragequit, that's like going up against SableDonk continously it's not cool.

Only difference is that you're not losing the game by a Turn 1 Donk but by Stall where you're unable to do anything like around mid to late game because you're stuck with a bad Pokemon
(because of Catcher/Gust of Wind) you can't retreat until it's KO'ed for a prize.

Another annoying strategy with that is say you're running Mr. Mime CoL to look at your Opponent's hand every turn and If they have any Switches or Warp Points to retreat their Pokemon out bring up Gothitelle to keep the lock going. That would help against the Zekrom matchup however If you mess up you're screwed If they have a fully charged Zekrom with your Victreebel Active cause unless you switch Victreebel out for Gothitelle they will Catcher your benched Dodrio for a Zekrom Donk thus getting rid of the free retreat lock.

 

[scizorlicious]

I've been thinking of running either Gothitelle or Vileplume UD when this card hits our shoreswith some Judges and other stuff for hand disruption HGSS-On style. Spiritomb TR for Spooky Whirlpool would help on that regard as well especially with Seeker.

yeah, have fun with not being able to use communication. Which mostly, every deck should run 4. Your consistent flow of pokemon that you want will decrease heavely.

Gothitelle only blocks your opponent's Trainers, remember? You can still play as many Communications as your heart desires.
And as far as Vileplume... there's a neat little combo here. Set up an Oddish on bench, then the next turn, you can Seeker up your 'Plume, play whatever Trainers you want, then drop it onto the Oddish that was already there with a Candy. Or you can forego the Candy and just set up another 'Plume every other turn, but Seeker the original one first to have an opportunity to use trainers. It may take up space, but hey- with 'Plume, you'll already be playing Candies, and Seeker's easy to put into almost any decklist.

Or you could just-you know-play Gothitelle and negate their catchers and not have to waste a supporter every turn just so you can play trainers for a turn and play them regardless while still locking the opponent...but hey, whatever your heart desires.

Hold up.
Gothitelle has to be active... and I don't really feel like attacking with Gothitelle, it takes 3 energy, and does low damage even at that. And my only other option is to have a main attacker that switches after the attack... and none that do that have good damage output. Plus, I'd need to get Gothitelle back to the bench EVERY TURN to attack with it again, which is a pain.
OR I could have Vileplume benched with a decent damage output with my attacker. I never said you have to Seeker/Candy it every turn. That would be ridiculous. But if you have some Trainers you want to use in your hand... it could be a great idea. Especially since you'll already have Rare Candies in your deck, and Seeker is never a bad idea.

 

[Card Slinger J]

But Vileplume hurts your deck from playing your own Trainer - Items with Allergy Flower while Gothitelle's Ability doesn't. Why should damage output matter in this situation?